Polybolos
by SilverMoonPhantom
Summary: After entering the Portal and before finding Abagail, Hiro and Baymax are separated. Nothing could have prepared Hiro for what comes after.
1. Chapter 1

Entering the portal was probably one of the strangest moments of his life.

There was a moment when sound muted around him, an electrified pressure damping down. Every hair that wasn't pressed down by his helmet and suit immediately stood on end. All at once, sound returned, along with a supersaturated world that honestly blew his mind.

The vibrancy of the color was uncomfortable, like neon, highlighter-bright colored paper that only the most enthusiastic of middle-schoolers enjoyed. Clouds made of shifting, clashing colors faintly glowed from their own light, illuminated brighter from the white-blue crackle of the open portal behind him.

Sound came back to him in a quiet stutter, crunching and smashing of metal and glass overlaid by the hum of Baymax's propulsion and a teeth-grinding whine that tickled on the edge of his perceptions.

"Careful, there's debris everywhere."

He reminded Baymax, leaning to help the robot to bank out of the way. It didn't seem to help, and Hiro noticed the robot moving a bit differently. There didn't appear to be wind resistance, or gravity - though the latter might have been obvious by the floating bits of building spinning around his head.

His heart stuttered when he realized a long panel of windows was approaching, set on cutting his torso off. Hiro detached from the magnet pads, stumbling as he sprinted along the glass.

He could see the red armor of his robot through the surfaces, and an opening that he could jump down through.

He put on an extra burst of speed, just as something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

Another metal panel, some sort of support for the sweeping curves of the building, was headed on a collision course with him.

With too little time to make it through the gap, Hiro leapt upward instead, barely missing the crackle of glass shattering under his feet. The lack of gravity sent him further than anticipated, but he tried to remain calm as Baymax flared his thrusters to turn around and retrieve him.

Still, there was nothing left to do but drift upward, propelled by his own momentum.

"That was a close…"

A crackle of sound and a strange staticky feeling ran across his shoulders.

"..call?"

Hiro twisted around, and wished that he hadn't.

One of the candy-colored clouds had shifted toward him, pale lightning arching between the glowing threads of something otherworldly.

He'd never been quite so terrified of purple, before.

Hiro turned back towards the red-armored robot, reaching his arm out.

"Baymax!"

He cried out, as the pink and blue mist billowed up to swallow him in. Light faded quickly, and he could feel dizziness clamping down around his head, and stirring up his stomach into an unhappy twist.

"Help…"

He could no longer see anything, and the nausea intensified until he couldn't take it anymore.

He blacked out.

Awareness crept up on him slowly, darkness blanketing him in a warm embrace.

Where was he?

"Hiro."

He could vaguely hear his voice being called, from a vast distance away. Head pounding, he shifted to grab it. Cloth was under him, a familiar smell reaching him as well. Where had his helmet gone?

The last thing he remembered, was the space beyond the portal - strange gravity, neon storms and snapping lightning.

"Hiro?"

His knees curled up slightly, shoulders hunching. He knew that voice, tickling on the edge of his hearing when his brain was half asleep.

With a deep breath, he cracked an eye open, stomach already dropping at the sight of familiar posters. He was in his room - somehow, he had made it out of the portal. That voice must have been part of a dream - it always was.

It was probably Aunt Cass calling him down for breakfast, or his friends trying to get him to go to class, from a message on his computer. His eyes drifted down - as alarming as it was to wake up with no recollection of getting back to his room, the initial internal diagnosis of 'Concussion - need sleep to heal brain' was enough to put him back down.

"Hiro, wake up."

A jolt shot through him, terrifying and painfully hopeful. He whipped his head around, eyes darting to the source of the noise.

**He** was standing at the top of the staircase, acting all the world like it was a normal thing.

"Good Morning, sleepyhead."

That was definitely not a voice in his head!

"Better get dressed, school starts soon."

Like a crescendo, the name clambered through his chest and swallowing up his brain.

** TADASHI**

"What, no 'Good Morning' to your big brother? After all that work I did?"

Tadashi smoothed back his dark hair, nestling his cap into place.

Hiro lay motionless, eyes tracking the young man's progress through the room. The colors were bright, and he didn't feel disconnected from reality.

There was no way...

A quick check of the clock, and he could read the numbers just fine - in order and crystal clear.

Hiro slid off the bed, heart racing. What if it was an hallucination brought on by a head wound? What if he had dreamed the last nine months? (but it had felt so real ?)

His hands trembled as he reached out for his brother - still half convinced it was a mirage or a dream, and would vanish into smoke at any moment.

Tadashi turned to him, the good-natured smile falling away into concern.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Fingertips met warm fabric, and curled into it.

He was real.  
>Oh god, he was real.<br>Hiro bowed his head, pressing his forehead into his brother's ribs. He could feel the startled inhale, muscles and bones moving just as they were supposed to.

Was it all really a dream? All of that inventing and time with his friends, the murderous rage when he found out what Callahan had done... He could recall most of it still, but the doubt had already cast a dreamlike quality on it all.

"Hiro?"

He felt a warm hand lay down over the back of his head, thumb ruffling the perpetually messy hair.  
>Tears seemed to well up out of their own accord, throat tightening like an archer's string.<p>

Whatever had happened, this was reality. It couldn't be a dream. He could count the stitches in Tadashi's clothes, smell home and the faint aroma of spiced meat from downstairs. There were too many details for it to be a hallucination.

"You-." He paused, swallowing to try and level out his voice. His brother's name, his smell, the warmth of him was thundering through Hiro's brain, quickly eating up every other thought.  
>"You're real, right?"<p>

An arm pulled him closer, until he could wrap his arms around Tadashi's waist and cling like a limpet. Hot tears were sliding down his face, jaw hurting from how hard he was clenching it.

"Oh, Hiro, Of course I'm real."

Those words echoed through his skull, and he couldn't help but holding his brother tighter.


	2. Chapter 2

He held on a little longer, calming the frantic whirring of his mind that was screaming 'this isn't possible!'

He stepped back, looking up at his brother.

Tadashi crouched down, tilting his head see to into Hiro's eyes.

"You okay?"

He nodded, wiping away his tears with the back of his hands

"Yeah, I just… I had a nightmare."

"As long as you're fine…."

His expression shifted into faint displeasure.

"...what time did you get back last night?"

Hiro blinked at him.

"Uh… late?" (I think?)

"I stayed up until 3am waiting for you. You said you'd be with your friends, but I couldn't get ahold of them."

The young genius remained silent - having absolutely no idea what his brother was talking about.

"Not to mention, you were wearing a ridiculous outfit this morning." He gestured to the closet.

Sure enough, his purple armor was laying haphazardly stacked, the helmet atop his desk.

His heart stuttered in his chest.

"W-what?"

The displeasure shifted to worry.

"Have you been drinking?"

Hiro whipped around to face him.

"What? No!"

"Or taking drugs - this is really serious, Hiro, don't lie to me."

He took a breath, looking Tadashi in the eye. (Oh god you're really alive, and right here, I'll never let you out of my sight again)

"I've never taken drugs in my life." He tilted his head "Well, drugs that hadn't been prescribed to me."

Brown eyes flicked back and forth between his own darker ones, finally closing with Tadashi's sigh.

"I wish you'd talk to me."

"I am talking to you!" He gestured between the two of them, opening his palms questioningly. "This, right here, this is talking, right? The two of us?"

His brother raised his hand and rubbed his own face, looking away.

"Forget about it."

He walked toward the stairs, turning to speak over his shoulder.

"The bus arrives in half an hour. We'll talk about your...cosplay, later."

As Tadashi's head bobbed down out of sight, Hiro gave into the screaming urge and lunged to watch him for a few moments from the top of the stairs, as he left via the steps.

Tadashi was alive.

Holy shit.

Scolding him and everything.

Hiro flopped back onto his bed, accepting the bounce and staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

Tadashi was back, but...everything was weird.

Bus? School? He hadn't ridden a schoolbus since he graduated Highschool at 13.

He glanced at the wall, blinking uncomprehendingly for a moment. It was blank.

There wasn't a GED certificate there, or his black cap.

He pushed himself upright, sliding off the bed again to survey the room closely.

Tadashi's side was still pretty tidy, but lacked...something. Less books, maybe?

Hiro's desk was definitely different, now that he was looking for it.

Gone were the bits and bobs of wire and circuitry - his toolbox had been replaced by a stack of books. (Why was it in English?) His monitor was a different brand and size - a quick check of the computer tower nearly gave him a heart attack.

It was old.

Like, outdated for at least twenty years kind of old.

A quick tap on his keyboard and he frowned at it. Why were they sticky?

His password on the computer was not the same (nor did it match any of the other five passwords *or three variations in capitalization of each* he normally used.)

This was already in the Twilight Zone of weirdness.

He turned and knelt down to pick up his armor, turning a chest plate over in his hand.

It was still scratched from the microbot battle, the purple lacquer gleaming over reinforced carbon fiber.

Hiro frowned.

So it hadn't been a dream.

Somehow, he had ended up here, in his bedroom, with both his brother and his armor.

(his brother was alive!)

A quiet tapping caught his attention - something from the window over his desk.

He pulled up the shade and yelped, stumbling back.

Hiro looked up again and burst out in nervous giggles, a grin splitting across his face and chasing a fair few of his worries away.

"Baymax, what are you doing?"

"I have been trying to find you - My batteries are getting low, and my charging station is still at your home."

Hiro scratched his head.

"Well, fly down to the basement, I guess. I'll figure out where Tadashi hid it." (god it felt good to refer to him like that)

"My charger is not in this house's basement - it is back in San Fransokyo. Your awareness seems compromised. Scanning now."

"This is my house, Baymax. We're in San Fransokyo. Things are just a bit weird."

"Scan complete. You have a slight concussion-"

"Called it!"

"-and your Endorphin, Oxytocin and Seratonin levels are elevated, suggesting overall happiness. I do not find any sign of injury or illness."

"See, I'm fine. Go down and charge yourself."

"However, Hiro, we are not in San Fransokyo."

The brunette signed, collapsing into the desk chair, looking up at Baymax's face through the window.

"Oh? Enlighten me, oh great one." He waved his arm grandly. "Where in the world are we?"

Baymax paused, blinking once.

"A consultation of the internet confirms what my scanners read - we are in San Francisco, of the United States of America."

He squinted his eyes at the robot.

"You sure you're reading that correctly?"

"I'm positive. We are not in 'The world' as you referred to."

Hiro stared at the white face for a moment, just breathing and mulling it over. The armor clattered to the floor as he stood suddenly, squeezing into Tadashi's side of the room and pulling aside the blinds.

The sight of the city pulled his breath away.

Gone was the Asian flair from the colonizing Japan, differences and similarities clashing painfully with his memory of his long-time home. The curved roofs were gone, streets a bit wider and... he squinted, tilting his head. The roads weren't as steep. That hill that ate up trolley brakes was a gentle slope, not a thigh-burning deathtrap.

Baymax was still hovering outside his little window - probably wasting battery.

"Baymax…" he murmured, letting the curtain fall shut. "...why is everything written in Romanji?"

"It is not Romanji, but English. This country's de facto language is English, followed by Spanish."

Hiro found himself sinking to the floor. So that's why everything looked Eastern.

"Oh man... Um, how many people speak Japanese?"

"Approximately 445,000 people are native Japanese speakers - .001 percent of the current population."

He grabbed at his hair, pulling it anxiously.

"I am in so much trouble."

"Do you need assistance?"

His first reaction was to snap 'no!' at the bot, but caught himself with a deep, shuddering breath.

"Um, do you know how to translate English to Japanese?"

"Although some meaning may be lost, I can translate."

"Awesome. Could you go into the garage? I'll meet you down there in few minutes."

Baymax nodded, and sank downward until he was out of sight.

Something on the opposite wall caught his eye.

An acceptance letter, framed and mounted.

For Tadashi Hamada, into the Robotics program at some school name he didn't recognize.

Even just reading that - converting it in his mind from his native language to one he had only studied for a year back in Highschool… it was slow, and annoying.

He exhaled explosively, clasping his hands together and placing a knuckle against his lips.

"Well, shit."

* * *

><p><strong>(AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong>

Quick Headcanon History Lesson!

In Hiro's World, of Big Hero 6:  
>Early in the colonial settlement of America, the Japanese isolationism had a hiccup, and they opened up their borders early, resulting in a lot of Japanese citizens to look Eastward for more lands. They settled a bit on Hawaii, creating a large naval base on the islands, then expanding their reach to California.<br>While English, Spanish and French movements were pushing westward, Japan suddenly had way more land than they knew what to do with. - A lot of immigration happened, and Japan set roots down in the California area.  
>They claimed a good chunk of the coast - extending up into what would now be British Columbia, down into Mexico, and as using the mountains as a barrier to drive away EnglishAmerican Colonial settlers. (I like to think they were a bit kinder to the indigenous people, but this is all headcanon anyway)

In modern times (In Hiro's world) there is a lot of casual border-crossing between the United States of America (only 35 states, not 50), and what ended up being known as "Japan's Greater State"  
>Japan had also maintained its hold on Korea, absorbing it as another state.<br>(Japan owns a loooooot of ocean)

Hiro and Tadashi's native language is Japanese, and while Hiro took some English lessons while in Highschool, he was a bit more preoccupied with Robotics and trying to graduate early, so he's forgotten most of the finer details.


	3. Chapter 3

Climbing out a window was a bit harder than he remembered. This house hadn't recently replaced the shingles, so that may be part of the problem. Either way, sliding down toward the edge of a roof toward a two-story drop wasn't his idea of a good time.

He heard the ring of the trolley behind him, hoisting himself up and glancing at it out of habit.

Hiro did a double-take.

He scrambled along the roof that wound around his house, ducking into the shadows and peeking out at the street.

Sure enough, it was still there, walking as calm as could be.

Himself.

Well, some alternate world version of himself, with longer hair and a bored look on his face as he strolled up to the store while talking on the phone.

And yes, it was incredibly disconcerting to hear his own voice talk in a language he could barely understand.

"Hey, Hiro. Ready for school?"

The other Hiro switched back into Japanese.

"Yeah, yeah."

With Tadashi's greeting, a dark, sucking feeling started climbing into his stomach.

His brother already had a sibling.

"What, you're not going to nag me about staying out late again?"

For a brief moment, Hiro seriously considered the merits of tying his double up in the garage, and assuming his life. Just the tone he had used ground on Hiro's nerves.

How dare he talk to Tadashi like that! He should appreciate what he had!

His brother sighed from beneath the awning.

"Figure you've had enough of that for the morning. C'mon, Aunt Cass made breakfast."

The two entered the house again, and Hiro scrubbed at his face with his hands, steadfastly ignoring the angry tears pricking the corners of his eyes and the betrayed feeling that this world was being rubbed in his face

He took a shuddering breath, clambering down from the roof and slipping into the garage from the back entrance.

* * *

><p>Baymax turned to greet him as he entered, doing that cute little arm-circle wave.<p>

Hiro forced a small smile, leaning forward to press his forehead gently against the cool armor.

What would be the consequences, of taking over that brat's life? Probably too many - He hadn't stuck around to make any highschool friends, and there was the whole 'not actually being bilingual' thing to worry about. In all likelyhood, everyone would know instantly.

Tch.

Back to plan A: Getting back home.

Huge arms encircled him in a hug, and Hiro tried to calm his flustered heart with the sound of quiet whirring motors from inside the robot.

Tadashi is _here._

"Thanks, buddy."

He pulled away, patting one red arm. He reached up, tracing the deep scars left by fighting microbots; metal and carbonfiber gleaming at the edges. There was no fixing that now - not until he got back home.

Hiro wandered around, scanning the contents and compiling a list in his head, of what he needed to charge the bot's battery. Thankfully, Baymax hadn't gotten to his 'drunk' stage of power loss quite yet.

In hindsight, it was hilarious - After certain non-critical functions were shut off, the lack of steady power hampered his ability to balance upright, and the visual sensors became far slower in identifying objects and matching them to a correct response.

Honestly, he wasn't sure about the slurred and stuttering speech. That spoke more of a deep-lying glitch than an actual system process.

"Baymax, sit down over there."

He waved his hand toward a mostly-empty corner, pulling a tangle of extension cords out from their pile. One end was plugged into the socket already, so he hauled them toward the giant red figure slumping against the wall.

There was hardly any good tech in here - he'd be surprised to find a working touch-screen, let alone magnetic servos, hyperspectral cameras or a good biometric scanner.

"Alright, hold still."

Hiro wiggled his fingers between the joints in the armor, releasing the tiny trigger that detached the foot/shin region from the knee. It popped off with a click,and he pulled it down to reveal a puffy white foot.

He repeated the process with the other one, tracing this thumb around to find the nearly-invisible button. Ah!

Baymax's hard foot detached at the ankle, a wave of stale air flooding out as the leg deflated. Hiro wiggled it off his skeleton, peering at the copper-colored pads that served to attach to his charging station. (they were probably actually copper, to be honest) Examining the inside of the foot, there seemed to be an opening that slid open to allow metal-to-metal contact when Baymax charged.

With a few days, his own lab and all of Tadashi's notes, he could probably remake the portable charging station.

With all this junk?

Ugh.

Alright, main components.

Hiro threw himself into the project, time passing faster than he was really aware. Soon enough, hunger let him know that a few hours, at least, had gone by. (He did discover the garage had a mini fridge and an incredibly dusty microwave - the latter of which was promptly taken apart after he finished using it)

Dining on vaguely recognizable cola and canned vegetables was about as fun as he remembered. Luckily, poking around at Tadashi's custom-designed actuators was way more fun than he anticipated. Nickel-Titanium Shape-Memory alloys!

Ah, he couldn't wait to get back so he could exploit that nerd school for every bit of tech and equipment they had…..and replace Baymax's Lithium-Ion battery with a proper ultracapacitor.

Baymax's enhanced scanner also helped a lot, playing a weird version of 'Where's Waldo' with the tools and supplies required.

Finally, Hiro had connected enough resistors and frayed enough wires to feel safe approaching Baymax with the cobbled-together chargers. He winced as a spark jumped, but grinned in victory as the quiet voice announced: "Charging"

"Sick!"

Hiro flopped back onto his back, stretching his hands and wrists.

"Any clue on when you'll be fully charged?"

"At the current rate, two hours."

Hiro shrugged. That wasn't half bad, considering the size of the batteries and the supplies he had to work with. He'd much rather go at a slow trickle charge than overheat/melt things by going to fast.

That just left planning, information gathering, supply gathering and what else? Oh yeah - figuring out how to make or find a portal that can transport people to other dimensions in a world that was SO behind in technology development it was actually sad.

An explosive exhale actually stirred the cobwebs up at the ceiling.

To the internet!

* * *

><p>Hiro Hamada was a pretty chill guy, if you asked him.<p>

He liked Math, disliked History and didn't really like or dislike school in general. He had some friends, and quite a few teachers who were disappointed to find out he was not a miniature golden-child Tadashi.

Nah, He'd rather coast through school, and use his time after school to hang out with his friends, play video games, and nag each other about the latest mod they found, tweaked, or made up.

When asked 'what are you going to do with your life', he'd always think _(I'm 14 - why would I know that?)_ and respond something like "Computer programmer, probably."

Game programming was fun, but it wasn't something he'd want to do as a job. It entertained him, but didn't make his heart soar, or interest peak up as soon as the topic was introduced.

More often than not, it irritated him to have Tadashi or Aunt Cass bring it up - knowing they'd soon ask him what he learned about it recently, or if he had taken extra time to study or practice those skills.

Annoyed shrugs apparently weren't proper answers.

Still, his day had started out pretty good. Even after he had stayed out all night and (knowingly) neglected to call the house to inform them, his brother didn't harp on him about it.

Breakfast was already made, and his bed was still unmade.

Seriously, it was freaky when he came home and his bed was made - basically rubbing in his face that someone had been poking around and 'cleaning'.

Ten minutes left to get to the bus, he quickly logged into his computer and printed out the assignments - It was just algebra, he'd do it on the bus.

Getting home from school was also good. Tadashi had gone back to his nerd school that morning, after visiting for his Spring Break. Hiro had the upper room to himself again.

Screen wall closed, blinds drawn an- ….what?

He peered into his closet, quirking an eyebrow at the purple-blue armor laying in a pile.

Was this some sort of mistimed birthday gift?

He picked up the helmet, turning it around in his hands.

It was pretty cool, at least - reminiscent of a couple futuristic FPS games.

He pressed a button, and the clear visor swept up seamlessly into the top.

Holy crap, that was awesome!

He flicked on the lamp beside his desk, kicking back in his office chair and examining it closer.

The 'ears' had orange tips, and similarly colored twin stripes contrasted cheerfully against the indigo base. He flipped it over, pushing long bangs out of the way and sliding it onto his head.

A perfect fit.

He blinked, looking around and testing the weight of it.

Man, a seriously perfect fit - like it was moulded to his head. This was crazy! If this was an early birthday gift, he owed Tadashi a lot of apologies for being a shithead recently.

Suddenly, a gentle voice crackled in his ear.

"Charging"

He squeaked, ripping the helmet off and flinging it away. It bounced off the side of his bed, rolling back toward him a bit.

The voice spoke again, something muffled that he couldn't hear from this distance. He prodded at the helmet with his sock-clad toe, jerking back and expecting the worse.

Nothing happened.

He slid out of his chair, crouching down and gingerly picking the helmet back up again.

He turned it around, holding it up to the light and squinting at the interior. Sure enough, there was a small series of holes around the ear area, presumably where little speakers would be. The horn-ear things made more sense now- they were probably antenna to pick up bluetooth or radio or something.

Oh man, this was way cool. Who was on the other end?

He slid the helmet on again, wrinkled his nose, removed it to adjust his hair and put it back on.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

A short pause, then the gentle voice responded.

"Hello, who is this?"

Hiro grinned, biting his lip and trying not to freak out vocally. He eyed the chest plate and gloves, practically bouncing in his seat. What gadgets did THOSE hide?

"This is Hiro Hamada - who are you?"

The pause was much longer this time, and he wondered if the line had disconnected.

* * *

><p>Baymax looked over at Hiro, who was currently popping open another soda and sucking the foam off. They made eye-contact, and Hiro quirked his eyebrow in something Baymax could distinguish as curiosity.<p>

"Uh oh."


	4. Chapter 4

When informed that his helmet was being worn by someone else, Hiro nearly choked on his soda. When the news was followed up by who exactly was wearing the helmet, he nearly had a heart attack.

"What do you mean alternate-me is on the line?"

Baymax didn't react to the hissed words, and obligingly tilted his head as Hiro reached up to remove the red helmet.

He cleared his throat, looking around through the faintly tinted visor. From the other side, a familiar voice spoke up.

"Hello? You still there?"

It was super weird.

Like, he had heard himself in videos, and over a microphone, but it was still an uncomfortable sensation to hear himself say words that he KNEW he had never spoken.

The voice switched into English.

"Can you still hear me?"

"I can hear you just fine." Hiro replied in his native tongue. "Baymax was handing over the receiver."

He could hear the curiosity, despite radio silence.

"Oh? Was Baymax who answered? Who're you?"

Hiro looked at the half-armored Bot, giving an exaggerated 'help me!' expression. The white and black face only blinked at him, tilting the ovular head. Still not sure what he was going to do in this foreign place, he decided to give honesty a shot.

After all, if he couldn't trust himself, who could he trust?

"Baymax is a robot. I wasn't expecting a call."

He heard a shuffle from the environment, something that shouldn't be possible through the installed microphone. He'd have to adjust the focus, later.

"I, uh, found a helmet in my room. It's freaking awesome. Thought it might be a gift?"

The voice was hopeful, and Hiro started pacing, one hand keeping the too-large helmet balanced enough to listen and speak, while the other unlatched the back door.

"Thanks for the compliment, but it wasn't meant to be a gift - I made it myself, and had to take it off for a bit."

He heard a low whistle, and some scraping.

"You made this? How rich are you?"

Suddenly imagining himself chilling in Fred's mansion, Hiro huffed a laugh. He leaned forward, peeking out around the corner to see if anyone was watching.

No? Good.

"Not rich. I had the materials on hand."

"Still, that's some crazy skills you've got, there. Oh! You said you had to take it off… are you friend of Tadashi's? Hanging around in the cafe? Hold on, I'll come downstairs."

Hiro tensed at the thought of other-him leaving the room with the helmet. He didn't want too many people knowing about his arrival.

"Not in the cafe!" He cleared his throat again, leveling his voice. I'm in your garage, actually. Fixing something…" If he could leave this place and get back home without making a huge fuss, that would be ideal.

"Oh! can I see? Is it that robot that answered first?"

"N...No, it's actually what I'm here for."

He took a calming breath. This was going to sound crazy.

"I actually got here through a portal. I'm another you from a different dimension, and I need your help. Mind if I come back up to your room?"

There was lingering silence after that proclamation.

Finally, a quiet voice.

"Another….me? …..Portal?"

"Right. I just lost my way, and I need to get back home."

He could see a figure moving around in the bedroom, then a pale face in the window, looking down at the street.

"Other window, Hiro, toward the garage."

It felt freaking weird to address himself. Maybe just pretend it was someone else with the same name?

They made eye contact, and Hiro pulled the red helmet off, ruffling his hand through his hair and looked back up. He couldn't tell the expression through the window, his eyesight not quite that good.

Hiro waved at the window, and other-Hiro gave a little wave back. He put the helmet back on.

"Would it be okay to come back up? I'm done with all the repairs I can do, just waiting on a battery to finish charging."

There was a long pause, and a weak 'yeah'

Hiro frowned. If the positions were reversed, he'd definitely be excited to meet an alternate version of himself. Maybe the guy just needed some time to adjust to the idea. It had been dumped on him rather abruptly.

"Alright, leave that window unlocked."

"Okay."

The face backed away from the window, and Hiro jogged back to the garage, tossing his helmet back to Baymax after whistling for his attention. Armored hands caught the helmet, a good sign for the developing environmental reaction AI.

"Put your feet back on, when you're done charging. I'll be back in a bit.

He hurried back into the alley, pulling his hood up and starting the short climb. Someone had installed a power line styled ladder up the side of the house, one that Hiro had been terrified to use, until a night of being grounded and reeeaaally wanting to get to a bot-fight.

Nothing like a dash of frustration to motivate a guy to try something new.

Granted, he'd still been terrified, but he didn't die, and that was enough to encourage its repeated use.

Judging from the dried mud clinging to the bars, this world's Hiro had also utilized that route.

Making a face, Hiro resolved to call this world's version of himself 'Other-Hiro… or….O'Hiro.

Yeah, that sounded good.

He tapped gently on the window, pulling at the frame when it wasn't pushed open for him. Hiro awkwardly climbed back into his (not his) room, flopping into a roll when his ankle caught on the edge.

He looked up from the floor, raising his hands in a spread-fingered gesture.

"Ta-daaaaa."

O'Hiro gave him an unsettled look, which he tried to ignore. Longer hair, and a thin scar above his eyebrow? Well, at least they were recognizable from each other. He didn't really blame the guy for being weirded out. It was super strange having a twin suddenly.

Hiro shuffle-crawled to the closet, pulling his gloves on.

"What are you doing?"

He grinned cheerfully, trying to ignore the wary look sent his way.

"Gloves on. There are sensors inside that let me control what's shown on the inside of the helmet. Here, lemme see it."

He held out his hand, and O'Hiro gingerly placed it in his palm. Hiro ducked his head into it, adjusting slightly and blinking the display on with a flick of his wrist. Brown eyes widened appreciatively.

"Pretty cool, huh." He felt the suave, self-congratulating voice slip in. "I, uh… made it myself."

Still, he started a search for information on portals, letting an internet search engine do the work for him. He intended this function to be for quick, on-the-job research, but apparently random browsing worked just fine.

He had a thought, pausing to consider it.

Wouldn't it be easy to just put on his helmet and browse the internet without even getting out of bed? He'd just have to calibrate the gloves to register certain buttons and mouse movements, and synchronize them as wrist and finger movements. That wasn't very hard at all - heck, it was practically pre-made.

Hiro didn't know whether to be appreciative at the thought, or mad he didn't think of it earlier.

"You said… you were lost?"

Hiro shot him a quirked grin, gesturing the search window to minimize.

"I was trying to save someone else, who had been trapped inside a collapsing portal." At the odd look he was given, he turned back to the search.

"It's a long story. Anyway, I've got some people who want me back home."

"It's still strange to see my face on someone else…..You sure you're not here to kill me and take my place as the more powerful clone?"

Hiro laughed, shaking his head and deliberately not mentioning that he had considered doing that exact thing only hours ago.

"Hey, do you know of any portals that might be around? If they even exist, here."

"Funny you should mention that."

Hiro looked up at the longer haired boy, watching him roll a strand of hair between his fingertips and stare determinedly at the wall.

"Just last week, it was on the news. Some sort of 'Convergence' happened, and a huge portal opened up in London."

Hiro lit up, bouncing to his feet.

"What! Really?! That's awesome!"

"Mmmhm. And and year before THAT, New York had a bunch of aliens drop in."

"Aliens are real?"

He raised his hand to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment at the look shot his way, but his gloves only tapped the back of his helmet.

"I suppose alternate selves from another dimension is less weird than an alien invasion - was it an invasion?"

"There were giant armored space whales smashing buildings, and laser fights. Pretty sure it was an invasion."

Hiro flopped back onto the floor, looking up at the ceiling. His alternate continued to bounce his leg, tugging on that strand. Since he knew where to look, now, the searches were much easier. Quite a few sites had posted pictures of the invasion of New York, and the 'Collision' or 'Combining' or whatever it was called, from London. New York would probably be his best bet, for finding more information. The portal there was blue, and not a golden-red.

He didn't understand the technology at all, but obvious color differences should be significant.

Right?

He'd go with that.

He considered asking for Tadashi's help, or the rest of his team from this dimension, but a quick search pinged back a blatant lack of advanced technology institutions. Likewise, a few searches for technology that he considered old news seemed to still be in development here. Even 3-D Printers were in their beginning stages!

The likelihood that any of them knowing advanced portal technology was extremely low.

A rumbling engine cut off outside, and Hiro pushed himself upright again.

"Thanks for letting me know."

He started strapping on the knee guards, taking his helmet on to wiggle back into the chest armor. His ears pricked, detecting the familiar sound of someone ascending the stairs. That third stair creaked rather loudly, the same in either dimension.

He hurriedly finished dressing, tucking his helmet under his arm and heading toward the window.

"Seriously, thanks for all your help, other-me, but I should get going before Aunt Cass sees two of us. Baymax, it's time to leave. C'mere."

He spoke into the helmet, wanting to wait until he got out the window before putting it on.

The steps were getting louder, accompanied by a sudden flurry from behind him. He turned, wondering what was going on, when he was tackled to the ground.

"Ah! Hey! What're you doing!"

One arm was wrenched behind his back, and he hissed in protest. A man and a woman had arrived on the top of the stairs, guns drawn, definitely not Aunt Cass.

Hiro struggled, wiggling and trying to get the kid off him. Fear and helplessness rose up like a smothering wave. His alternative was easily overpowering him, probably taking advantage of the weakness lingering from his months of depressed isolation.

What was going on! Why was he doing this?!

"Baymax, Help!"

One of the suit-clad people spoke into a radio, but Hiro was too busy trying not to eat carpet to really see who did it or what was said.

The familiar whine of thrusters lifted his heart, and the strangers were clearly more wary of the giant red-clad robot ripping open the bay windows than they were of the scrawny boy on the ground.

Other-Hiro's distraction was enough that he could get a knee under him, launching himself upright and wincing at the crack of a face against the back of his skull.

A cry of pain, and Hiro was free, stumbling toward the window and shoving his helmet back on. He jumped out the window, clinging to his bot's shoulder and urging him to get up into the sky.

A series of gunshots rang out, and Hiro flinched, but didn't feel any pain.

Wind whistled around them, one red arm caging him in against Baymax's chest as he clung desperately to the familiar shapes. The city fell away beneath them, a maze of roads and lights.

They leveled out just below the cloud cover, slowing enough that Hiro felt comfortable climbing up to his proper mounted position between the red wings.

His hands were shaking.

Throughout the slim wings, Hiro could see a peppering of holes. Little shavings of metal and fibers gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. Their armor was clearly not made for stopping bullets.

He ducked down, pressing his forehead against Baymax's back.

What had just happened?

"What am I going to do?"


End file.
